Every Friday night in the fall, I host a high school football scoreboard show, which is broadcast on more than 50 radio stations across the state. When I sit in my studio west of Little Rock, I often think back to the heyday of the Arkansas Radio Network.

I am a high school student in Arkadelphia, working at KVRC-AM and switching to ARN News at 55 minutes every hour. Some of the highlights of my early media career were the opportunity to call up short news stories, have ARN engineers record them, and then later hear my own voice on the statewide network.

The history of the network can be traced back to 1967 and the Early Morning Farm show hosted by Bob Buice, who also made a weekend show called "Uncle Bob's Stories from the Bible". The outstanding broadcasting director Ted Snider took the network to a new level, hiring famous news anchors such as Les Bolton and Don Corbett to work with sports Collaboration with radio legend Jim Elder.

The farm report is still an important part of the network, with John Philpot and Stewart Doan following Buice. Doan passed away in 2012 at the age of 52, and in 1998 he became chairman of the National Agricultural Broadcasting Association.

By the 1980s, ARN had nearly 70 affiliate stations across the state.

For such a small state, Arkansas has a rich history of broadcasting.

I grew up listening to KAAY-AM in Little Rock, Mighty 1090. The station introduced the Top 40 format in September 1962 and has used the format for 23 years. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, because its 50,000 watt clear channel signal could be clearly heard in Cuba at night, the U.S. government used KAAY to broadcast propaganda to the Cuban people.

Clyde Clifford started an avant-garde rock show called "Beaker Street" on KAAY at the end of 1966. Because the station reached so many states at night, Clifford quickly gained a following nationwide.

Clifford later said: "This is just a nod to all the weird long-haired music coming from the West Coast. It takes off like a burning house." "The response was amazing."

April 3, 1985 was the last day of KAAY as the top 40 radio station. The station subsequently changed its format to gospel music and paid religious programs.

According to Ray Poindexter in his book "Arkansas Airwaves," the first Arkansas radio station began broadcasting on February 18, 1922. The person behind the station is Harvey Couch, the founder of the Arkansas Power and Lighting Company, who visited KDKA-AM in Pittsburgh last year.

"The sofa arranged a radio demonstration for the Pine Bluff Rotary Club in November 1921," the late Dennis Sigg wrote in the history of mass media in Arkansas. "By February 1922, Couch had an antenna and named his new baby WOK as Kilowatt Worker. There were no advertisements. The station was supported by the utility company.

"The station has many firsts in Arkansas: the first broadcast sermons, the first broadcast sports events, the first broadcast concerts, etc. The first Arkansas missionary to make full use of the broadcast was Benbo of Little Rock Brother Gad, he is a fiery opponent of the Missionary Baptist "Darwinism and Evolution." His radio show helped promote the initiative to ban the teaching of evolution1. "

The first radio station WSV in Little Rock was broadcast in April 1922.

"In the same year, some radio stations joined the ranks of broadcasting sports and speeches," Sigg wrote. "This cooperative arrangement is the pioneer of today's Internet. On June 26, 1922, the Southwestern newspaper in Fort Smith was licensed by KGAR. This was the first newspaper in Arkansas to open a radio station. Most of the early radio stations were operated by Retailer or retailer owned. Manufacturer, such as Moore Motor Company in Newark.

"With the broadcasting of radio stations, more than just local news, weather and sports are needed. Radio stations are turning to regional sports events, live broadcasts, and even heavyweight competitions and other national sports events. Local radio stations are looking for other radio programs across the country. Radio station."

In states where agriculture dominates the economy, agricultural news is crucial.

"As many farmers go home for dinner at noon, this becomes an important time for broadcasting," Sigg wrote. "Helena KFFA-AM's'King Biscuit Time' show features blues artist Sonny Boy Williamson, whose photos later appeared on the company's flour bags."

WLBN-AM was established in Fort Smith in June 1927 and moved to Little Rock four months later. In 1928, it was renamed KLRA and became one of the most famous stations in the state. It has a staff band, broadcasts remotely, and joined the powerful CBS broadcasting network in 1929. KLRA-AM 1010 remained popular until the 1980s and was one of the last stations in Little Rock to be equipped with full-time journalists.

"Radio played a role during World War II, helping to promote the sale of scrap metal and rubber, selling war bonds, and boosting morale," Sigg wrote. "KOTN-AM in Pine Bluff assisted Jaycees in collecting aluminum. KBTM-AM performed a musical performance from the Strand Theater in Jonesboro to boost morale.

"After the war, as the veterans returned home, broadcasting developed rapidly. In 1947, the oldest AM radio station still in Arkansas-KUOA, founded in Siloam Springs in 1926-became the first to add FM radio stations. Radio. The Arkansas Broadcasting Corporation Association was established in 1948 to represent the interests of broadcasting, and later television was added as the industry developed."

KTHS-AM in Hot Springs became the state's first 50,000 watt power station in 1953. It moved to Little Rock and became KAAY in September 1962.

Senior editor Rex Nelson’s column regularly appears in the Arkansas Democratic Party Gazette. He is also the author of the Southern Fried blog on rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.

Print title: Rich broadcast status

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